MIDDLETOWN — Gov. Tom Corbett compared the state budget to the family budgets crafted by the Riddle Village residents who gathered Friday to hear the Republican discuss his policies.

“You know how much money you have,” Corbett said. “You know how much money you can spend. You probably have the same philosophy that I do — you can’t spend beyond your means.

“Unfortunately, we had been spending beyond our means — way beyond our means. There was no way that we could continue to spend at that same rate, so I had to make some pretty tough decisions.”

Corbett, who is seeking re-election, spent the better part of an hour detailing his policies to a group of about 100 senior citizens. The incumbent touched on a range of subjects including fiscal responsibility, job creation, education, health care and pension reform. He also fielded questions regarding Marcellus Shale, higher education and medicare.

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Corbett stuck to the narrative that he has used throughout his re-election campaign: that he kept his promise to increase jobs and to eliminate a $4.2 billion budget deficit without raising taxes.

“We made that promise of less taxes, more jobs and we have kept it,” Corbett said. “Why have we kept to it? Because I believe that the private sector is the one who creates jobs — not government. We’re starting to see that.

“It’s not going as fast as we’d like to see it go, but the economy nationally hasn’t been going as fast as we’d like to see it go.”

The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.4 percent in January — a 1.4 percent decline since January 2013, according to figures released Friday by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The state unemployment rate was a shade below the national rate of 6.6 percent.

Corbett touted the addition of 150,000 private sector jobs since he took office. He also cited a Site Selection Magazine article that listed Pennsylvania as the No. 1 state in the Northeast for new corporate facilities in 2013. Pennsylvania had more successful projects than all other eight northeast states combined.

“The private industry is the one who provides jobs,” Corbett said. “Government jobs are provided by taxpayers. If you want taxpayer money, you need the private sector. If we can grow the private sector, we’re going to get more income to meet all of the needs that we have in the state government and, frankly, in the country.”

Corbett answered several questions from the residents, including one inquiry about his refusal to increase the tax burden on companies drilling Marcellus Shale.

Corbett noted natural gas companies have contributed about $2 billion from a variety of taxes, including the corporate debt income tax, which he said is the second-highest in the nation.

“We’re in competition with other states that have this natural gas,” Corbett said. “Everybody says, ‘You can tax it — the gas is in the ground. They’re not going to go anywhere because the gas is in the ground.’

“They’re right, the gas isn’t going to go anywhere. The developers are going to go to the other locations.”

Corbett’s stance on Marcellus Shale is among his most scrutinized policies. His detractors have branded him as a pro-corporate governor who slashed public education by $1 billion. Corbett consistently notes the education cuts resulted from the loss of federal funding.

Corbett earned a 32.5 percent job approval rating and a 29.4 percent favorability rating in a poll released Thursday by Robert Morris University. USA Today has dubbed Corbett as America’s most vulnerable governor.

Six Democratic candidates are vying for the opportunity to face Corbett in the general election. Tom Wolf, a York businessman, is favored in the polls.

David Landau, chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Party, did not return a call seeking comment.

Earlier Friday, Corbett joined Archbishop Charles Chaput in Philadelphia to announce they have been invited to travel to the Vatican to plan the Eighth World Meeting of the Families. He stopped at Riddle Village afterward.

“We’ve stopped at villages like this around the state over the years,” Corbett said. “We were going to be down in this neighborhood. It was a good opportunity to stop by and see a facility like this that has such a great reputation.”

About the Author

John Kopp is a reporter for the Delaware County Daily Times, who covers state and county politics. Follow him on Twitter @DT_JohnKopp Reach the author at jkopp@delcotimes.com
or follow John on Twitter: @DT_JohnKopp.